After a crew member was positively tested for the coronavirus, Mein Schiff 3 has been put under quarantine at Cuxhaven, Germany.

The ship had been collecting crew members of the TUI-fleet in the Mediterranean and around the Canary islands before it arrived last Tuesday at Cuxhaven where the crew was supposed to leave the ship and travel home.

15 crew members had reported feeling unwell when the ship was already berthed at Cuxhaven, one of them was tested positive for the coronavirus.

About 110 people had already left the ship on Thursday before the positive testing and are on their way home. They have been contacted.

Official ports of quarantine for cruise ships in Germany are Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Mein Schiff 3 was allowed to berth at Cuxhaven because TUI cruises had assured officials that there were no cases of the virus reported aboard the ship and because the ship had had no contact with the outside world for four weeks (the last passengers left the ship on March 23). However, Cuxhaven authorities did not know (and were not told by the shipping company) that mein Schiff 3 spent more than 24 hours at Santa Cruz de Tenerife harbour on April 17/18.If there has been contact with the outside world at Sta. Cruz de Tenerife is unclear.

Mein Schiff 3 will now be heading for an anchorage in the German Bight, aboard is a medical team which will test all 2,890 crew.

So far the person which was positively tested has fortunately shown only mild symptoms.